Friday, December 31, 2010

New Year’s Eve, Farewell, 2010!

I’m so happy so many of you are thrilled with the mystery revealing! I’m always so nervous with that…what if people don’t like it! I know it has been a stretch --- And I am aware that it is a huge leap of faith as well for you! ALL those weird neutrals into string blocks! But don’t you feel GREAT about cleaning out so much STUFF?! I know I do. I started out with a whole big comforter bag (You know, the zippered bags you buy bedding in? Aren’t they great?) full of unwanted neutral stuff, and I LOVE LOVE LOVE how my quilt turned out!

I’ve had a fun couple of days --- Yesterday morning Lisa and Shelby came to play Chez Quiltville and we started quilting on these little memory quilts for a lady that Lisa knows ---made out of her father in law’s ties. While we were at the beach, Lisa sat and took all the ties apart and fused them to some very light weight interfacing….stripped them down into random widths and started string piecing them onto paper foundations on her featherweight. There is SO MUCH FABRIC in a tie! I had no idea! But when you take it apart and unfold it all…wow…ideas ideas ideas!

No, I am restraining myself from accumulating more recycled fabric in tie form. I have boxes and boxes of fabric from shirts and other articles of clothing that need to find their way into quilts. If I start up with ties --- I have to start a whole ‘nuther stash! Not going there. Well, not yet anyway!

Can you see the texture of the quilting? We used a black thread, so it’s hard to see, but I tried to get the light right. They are only about 36” square, one for each of the children who’s father wore the ties. I think they are a great tribute, and a neat way to preserve those memories. There were some WILD ties, let me tell you!

Can you see the texture and quiting now? Some of these prints are so beautiful I kept wishing they were available in COTTON!

Yummy Yummy! I just love string anything…but this was so neat, I couldn’t resist petting it---OFTEN!

After the second quilt was quilted, and the third one bordered, we decided we had had enough for the day, and jumped in the car and drove to the Ikea in Charlotte! Was this a good idea? on an almost holiday weekend? NO!! Let me tell you, if you go --- do it on a week day when kids are in school! It took us 2 hours to wander the aisles and pick up goodies we wanted NEEDED! I came home with a soap pumper for my kitchen dish soap that I HOPE will not spew soap from any where other than where it is supposed to come – every other pumper I’ve tried leaks around the cap.

We topped the shopping trip off with a stop to the snack bar for the best $1.00 Cinnamon Roll that I’ve had. It could be that I was just ravenous from all that quilting, driving and shopping? But no --- they are really good!

Here’s a pic of Chloe for those who asked how she is doing --- She is here to wish you Happy New Year, too! She contentedly lives outside, soaking up the sun on the front porch. She’ll come when I put food out for her. She will begrudgingly let me pet her while she stuffs her face in the bowl, but she does not purr, and she is not lovey, and you can not pick her up. She really is quite the pain in the rear, and it’s a shame because she is so beautiful! I hope she is doing her job keeping rodents at bay, etc. I feel bad for her because I know how tormented she was before she came to us, and maybe this is the best we can give her, a sunny spot by the front door, food in her belly, a safe place to call home even if it is outside!

Happy New Year Everybody! I’ve got a cozy spot on the couch waiting for me, and a quilt just waiting for more stitches as the ball drops!

18 comments:

i love the tie quilt. my father has tons of old ties, so i just may have to tackle this one. i've been sewing a little over a year and i have made 8 full size quilts this year. i love reading your blog and thank you for all you blessed me with this year and i hope your 2011 is blessed in full.

I like string blocks but to make them is a pain in the Rain to me. I got out all my scrap bags to make your Mystery. I have the clues all printed. I hope to get it made sometime after I get the SCRAP bag under control. What a mess I made trying to clean up yesterday. I would like to just sit and sew, but I've covered all flat surfaces sorting. I definately need to go on a fabric diet. Happy New Year to you!

I LOVE the tie string quilt idea.... but how am I going to remember without stopping everything and starting one of those...LOL... if only I didn't need sleep. I'm on a mission tho... to finish my RRCB by the time you get here to CA in Jan. So many quilts...well, you know.

I've seen so many nice ties at thrift stores and often thought of buying them for a string quilt since many of them are pure silk but I don't think I'd do it unless the ties belonged to someone special and were going into memory quilts like Lisa is amaking. Those small quilts will be such a lovely tribute and remembrance of the man that they belonged to.

Glad to hear that Chloe is doing well. My neighbors had a cat just like her that happily lived outdoors all of her life.

Bonnie, Can you give us a little more specifics about the blocks and how she processes the ties. I know she must unfold it and take out the interfacing, but how does she cut it up? How big are the string blocks?

Janet, tried to reach you but can't email you via your comment. The quilts are Lisa's and she does have a blog, so I'll let her talk about them first before I take over a post she is planning on :c) I do know the blocks are 5" finished, and the fabric is stabilized with an iron on interfacing.

Bonnie, the timing of this RRCB quilt is very interesting. I had just finished my umpteenth string quilt and was thinking that I needed to come up with a quilt design that would combine string blocks and other pieced blocks. And there you were a couple days later with RRCB. :-) I like your design. I'm a couple steps behind, but I'll get there. At the moment, your Carolina Christmas is on my bed, loving it!

I love the outcome of the RRCB. I must've used up lots of scraps, but I can't tell...lol.Thank you for the tie photos. I have a big box...been collecting them for years...and your photos and text may motivate me to start something with them.Happy New Year!

p.s. You are truly making a difference in Chloe's life, whether she knows it or not! If it gets especially cold, you can always put an old blanket in a box on the porch for her too. She just may use it!

I have a small wallhanging that I made from my father's ties - a Tree of Life block. Working with that material was tricky, and he had some really wild (read: ugly) ties, but I like the result. I need to quilt it up and get it on display. Those string tie quilts turned out lovely, and I think the quilting is a great compliment to the design. What treasures they will be!

Bonnie, Please encourage Lisa to post about her tie quilts. They are beautiful! I've got baskets full of my Daddy's ties that I want to use this way. One quilt for my sister, one for my brother and one for me!

Chloe is lucky that she has you. The understanding of cat natures is a tricky business. She has the fur to stay warm. And you did make her a fort on the proch, right?I am quitting sewing for the day. As I worked on the Mystery blocks I put together my entire Pineapple quilt. That was so rewarding to be doing two quilts at the same time!XOXXO Subee

Chloe is beautiful. I don't know much of her story, as I have just recently found your blog. Cats have their own agenda, she may come around eventually. She must be content or she wouldn't stay. She may be purring on the inside. I can't hear my cat purr, but I can feel the vibration in his throat. He is a very pampered cat.I love all your scrappy quilts and I'm looking forward to your visit to my guild in May!